Metal post.



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GEDRG E HU'TCHINSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOIV T9 DONALD-HUTCEINSON It QZ'E NTS LTD, 011' MASTER/TON, NEW ZEALAND, A CORPORATION OF NEW ZEALAND.

METAL rosr.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 29, 1915.

- Application filed December 21, 1914. Serial No. 878,385.

T aZZ whom it may concern e it known that I, Gsonon Ila/Tonin- SON, a subject of the King of (treat Britain, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Metal Posts, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to metal posts the kind used for fencing, telegraph posts or for other purposes, and is a further development of the post disclosed in my to pending application, Serial No. 77 9.739.

-Iy earlier post above referred to combines great strength at ground level with relative lightness in weight and has a cross section which facilitates the attachn'ient of cross arms or of fence wires, and is shaped Y tions.

so that it meets the static resistance of the earth symmetrically when pressed against from the front or from the back, generally happens in a fence.

y present invention provides however a post which While retaining the above advantages stands up firmly againstsidcway pressures also, and is therefore more suitable for telegraph posts and the like which may be subjected to strains from all direc- To accomplish this object I provide a camber in the back line of the post whereby a better balance is obtained as set forth below and I provide converging flanges at thefree edges of the post instead 'of parallel oncsythereby reducing the tendof the post which is ency for that side pressed against the earth, when the post is undersideway strain, to buckle inward at ground levelyand linallyg l provide braces the two sides of the 'postrwhereby the said tendency of one sid of the post to buckle inward under a sioeway strain is still further provided against. Y

/Vith these and other objects in View I have illustrated the invention and the several elements forming part of the invention in the attachedldrawing.

Figure 1 is ahpcrspective view of a. sheet metal post providdmcar its upper end with an insulator arm. Fig. 2 is a. side view of the post showing the camber more cv arly. Fig. 3 is a perspective section on a larger scale through said post on line 33 of 1, and showing the means for reinforcing the post by bracing. Fig. 4 is a similar section through a post, showing the Hanging and showing means for attaching a fence wire. Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the funotioii of the camber.

The post indicated at 1 in Fig. 1 is made of shoot metal and consists of four wing portions 2, 3, 4 and 5, substantially of trik angular shape. These wing" portions are placed with respect to each other so that they taper in OPPOSltQ directions, the Wing portions 2 and 4- tapering upwardly and the wing portions 3 and 5 integral with the first named portions tapering downwardly, longitudinal. edges of each of the two upper portions and the two lower portions being in abutment while other longitudinal edges of said portions converge toward each other. The post therefore, has a cross section re semhling a V with a contiguous apex line or back line 6 and free edges '7, 8, 9 and 10. It should be noted that this is the preferred construction and that the apex line is not necessarily a sharply defined line, nor is the shape of the wings a geometrically perfect triangle.

The longitudinal post. as well as the free edges consists of portions which are angularly offset with respect to each other, whereby a camber is formed in the post. The distance between the axial line and apex line is approximately twice as great as that between axial line and base line ofthe V-shaped cross section.

Fig. 5 illustrates the function of the camber. If the head of the post were in a straight line with the back of the buried portion (position I), a force acting sidewise against the post in direction of the arrow A would act against the earth resistance, represented by the soil pressure against the other side of the buried triangle, in a small portion near the apex only, and naturally the post would easily yield isplacing the opposing small area of soil, and in yielding would rotate about its axis which also would be a disadvantage. The same tendencies would still. prevail if the axis of the post would go through a point X midway between the apex and the base line of the "J (position H), because of the fact that the side 3 of the post presented to the av artiste cow earth is at a slant to the direction in which the force A is acting, so that one edge would advance, cutting into the soil an the other edge 8 would recede. Hence the axis is located considerably closer 'to the base line than the apex, (position 111), whereby the tendencies mentioned above are overcome. This can be effected by the provision of a camber, as described and shown. For further strengthening the structure of the post or batten, the legs of the V forming the wings 2, 3, 4" and 5 are provided at their free ends with flanges 12 and 13 which are offset from the plane of the wings and which preferably converge as shown in Fig. 2. That portion otthe post where the cross section is largest and which is approximate-1y near the point where the post projects from the soil may be provided with a reinforcing element 14 in the form of a stay, brace orbridge, rigidly secured in the interspace between the legs of the V-shaped section. Similar stays or braces may be provided on other portions of the post, if the potential strains to which the post may be subjected make this construction necessary. In Fig. 3 one of these braces is shown in form of channels 14, 14', extending transversely through the post and welded to the wings of the same, the channels being connected by diagonal cross braces 14!.

I claim: 1. A sheet metal post of open sided cross section tapering from the ground line of the 35 post in both directions. the apex line of the post below the ground being at an angle to the apex line of the post above the ground and the free edges of the post below the ground being located in a plane disposed at an angle to the plane in which the free edges of the post above the ground are located.

2. A sheet metal postof substantially V- shaped cross section tapering ground line of the post in both directions, the apex line of the post below the ground being at an angle to the apex line oithe post above the ground and the free edges of the post below the ground being located in a plane disposed at an angle to the plane in which the free edges of the post above the ground are located.

' 3. A sheet metal post of substantially V- posite directions,

from the shaped cross section wherein thefour free edges of the post converge in couples in optwo of the converging edges below the ground being located ina plane disposed at an angle to the plane of the two converging free edges above the ground, the back or apex line of the post consistin of two portions which are angularly ofi set with respect to each other, whereby a camber is formed in the apex line of the post, said camber deviating a distance of approximately two-thirds of the entire side view of the post from the "axis of the same.

4. A sheet metal post of substantially V- shaped cross section tapering in opposite directions, the apex or back line of the post being composed of two portions at an angle to each other, the portions of below the ground being located in a plane at an angle to the plane in which the tree edges above the ground are located, in combination with means for securing wire holding devices to the said free edges of the post "above the ground.

5. A sheet metal post of substantially V- shaped cross section having a camber on the apex line of the post and a camber at each of the free edges of the post, the apices of the three cambers formed in this manner occurring at ground level. 1 v I 6, A sheet metal post of substantially V- shaped crossgsectionhaving a camber in the apex line of'the V and a camber in each of the free edges of the post combined with reinforcing elements secured in the opening of the V at the point where the post emerges from the ground.

7 A sheet metal post of open sided cross section tapering from ground level in opposite directions, having a side which is presented at a slant to the opposingt earth, and being eambered on back and out edges; said camber being greater alon that line, as seen in side view, toward whic the s1anting side recedes from the point of the viewer.

In testimony whereof Iaflix my signature in presence of two witnesses, I GEORGE HUTCHINSON. Witnesses:

' Fnmx S'I'ERN,

BARTHOLD KLATZ.

the free edges 

